Yahrzeit system and method

ABSTRACT

A method of and system for providing an electronic Yahrzeit display corresponding to the current date including determining a current date, performing a search in a database storing a plurality of Yahrzeit entries to identify the Yahrzeit entries having an anniversary of the death date corresponding to the current date, and electronically displaying the identified Yahrzeit entries in a rotating manner, wherein each of the identified Yahrzeit entries are displayed for a predetermined amount of time, wherein the method and system may convert dates between a plurality of calendars.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. 119

The present application for patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 61/032,262 entitled “YAHRZEIT SYSTEM AND METHOD” filedon Feb. 28, 2008, the entire contents of which are hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to a method, system, and computerprogram product that includes features to electronically or otherwiseassist in the collection and display of Yahrzeit information.

2. Background of the Technology

A Yahrzeit, or anniversary of the death of a relative, is observed as asolemn occasion in all branches of Judaism. A special candle is lit,burning for the full twenty four hours of the anniversary date. TheHebrew date of death is regarded as an anniversary in the years after aperson's passing. For centuries, it was traditional to mark the occasionby visiting the gravesite of the person. In modern society, with itsmobility and scattering of families, such visits are not alwayspossible. Thus, other forms of remembrance have become necessary.Currently, Yahrzeit information may be manually displayed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nordelineate the scope of any or all aspects. One purpose is to presentsome concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a preludeto the more detailed description that is presented later. Aspects inaccordance with the present invention overcome the above identifiedproblems of the prior art, as well as others, by providing methods andsystems for electronically or otherwise gathering, managing, anddisplaying Yahrzeit information.

In an aspect, a method of providing an electronic Yahrzeit displaycorresponding to the current date, includes determining a current date;performing a search in a database storing a plurality of Yahrzeitentries to identify the Yahrzeit entries having an anniversary of thedeath date corresponding to the current date; and presenting theidentified Yahrzeit entries in a rotating manner, wherein each of theidentified Yahrzeit entries are displayed for a predetermined amount oftime.

In another aspect, the method may further include the current date beingdetermined in a first calendar, calculating a conversion date for thecurrent date in a second calendar; and wherein performing the searchincludes identifying the Yahrzeit entries having an anniversary of thedeath date corresponding to the current date in the first calendar andthe conversion date in the second calendar.

In another aspect, the method the first and second calendars mayselected from a group consisting of the Gregorian calendar, the Hebrewcalendar, the Chinese calendar, the Hindu calendar, the Julian calendar,and the Muslim calendar. For example, the first and second calendars maybe the Gregorian and Hebrew calendars.

In another aspect, the method further includes managing the plurality ofYahrzeit entries stored in the database, including entering a newYahrzeit entry; and deduplicating the plurality of Yahrzeit entries.Deduplicating the plurality of Yahrzeit entries may include establishinga predetermined amount of identical information to trigger adeduplication. Deduplication may occur automatically upon the entry of aduplicative Yahrzeit entry and/or may include a prompt is made to a userwhen a Yahrzeit entry is entered having a predetermined amount ofidentical information to an existing Yahrzeit entry. The prompt mayfurther include displaying information for the existing entry and theduplicative entry; and providing a link to further information for bothentries.

In another aspect, a system for providing a rotating display of aplurality of Yahrzeits corresponding to an anniversary date includesmeans for determining a current date; means for performing a search in adatabase storing a plurality of Yahrzeit entries to identify theYahrzeit entries having an anniversary of the death date correspondingto the current date; and means for presenting the identified Yahrzeitentries in a rotating manner, wherein each of the identified Yahrzeitentries are presented for a predetermined amount of time.

In another aspect, a system for providing a rotating display of aplurality of Yahrzeits corresponding to an anniversary date includes aprocessor for determining a current date; a repository accessible by theprocessor for storing a plurality of Yahrzeit entries; wherein theprocessor performs a search in the repository to identify the Yahrzeitentries having an anniversary of the death date corresponding to thecurrent date; and a user interface functioning via the processor forpresenting the identified Yahrzeit entries in a rotating manner, whereineach of the identified Yahrzeit entries are presented for apredetermined amount of time.

In another aspect, a computer program product comprises a computerusable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computerto provide a rotating display of a plurality of Yahrzeits correspondingto an anniversary date, the control logic comprising: first computerreadable program code means for determining a current date; secondcomputer readable program code means for performing a search in adatabase storing a plurality of Yahrzeit entries to identify theYahrzeit entries having an anniversary of the death date correspondingto the current date; and third computer readable program code means forpresenting the identified Yahrzeit entries in a rotating manner, whereineach of the identified Yahrzeit entries are presented for apredetermined amount of time.

In another aspect, at least one processor configured to provide arotating display of a plurality of Yahrzeits corresponding to ananniversary date, includes a first module for determining a currentdate; and a second module for performing a search in a database storinga plurality of Yahrzeit entries to identify the Yahrzeit entries havingan anniversary of the death date corresponding to the current date; anda third module for presenting the identified Yahrzeit entries in arotating manner, wherein each of the identified Yahrzeit entries arepresented for a predetermined amount of time.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed, and this description is intended to include all suchaspects and their equivalents. Additional advantages and novel featuresin accordance with aspects of the invention will be set forth in part inthe description that follows, and in part will become more apparent tothose skilled in the art upon examination of the following or uponlearning by practice of the aspects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The disclosed aspects will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe appended drawings, provided to illustrate and not to limit thedisclosed aspects, wherein like designations denote like elements, andin which:

FIG. 1 shows various features of an example computer system for use inconjunction with aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 2 presents an exemplary system diagram of various hardwarecomponents and other features, in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary user interface in accordance withaspects of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary form for the collection and entry ofYahrzeit information in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user interface for a calendar converterin accordance with aspects of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary user interface for a search applicationin accordance with aspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be apparent that the aspects herein may be embodied in a widevariety of forms and that any specific structure, function, or bothbeing disclosed herein is merely representative. An aspect disclosedherein may be implemented independently of other aspects, and two ormore of these aspects may be combined in various ways.

It is to be recognized that depending on the aspect, certain acts, orevents of any of the methods described herein, can be performed in adifferent sequence, may be added, merged, or left out together (e.g.,not all described acts or events are necessary for the practice of theapplication). Moreover, in certain aspects, acts or events may beperformed concurrently rather than sequentially.

Aspects in accordance with one variation of the present inventioninclude an electronic or otherwise automated or partially automatedYahrzeit system that enables the collection of a plurality of Yahrzeitentries, the collection of information regarding persons connected to aYahrzeit entry, and the presentation of a plurality of Yahrzeit entriesin connection with other features. The presentation may be electronicand may be a visual display, an audio communication, and/or acombination of an audio and a visual presentation. As used herein, aYahrzeit entry includes memorial type information related to ananniversary of a deceased persons life or death.

FIG. 1 shows various features of an example computer system for use inconjunction with aspects of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1,the computer system is used by a user 101 to access data, makecalculations, and perform other steps in accordance with methods of thepresent invention, such as by using software and other computer featureslocated on a server or other network device 106. Access occurs, forexample, via a terminal 102, network (e.g., the Internet) 110, andcouplings 111, 113. The terminal 102 may comprise, for example, apersonal computer (PC), minicomputer, mainframe computer, microcomputer,telephone device, personal digital assistant (PDA), or other devicehaving a processor and input capability. The server 106 may comprise,for example, a PC, minicomputer, mainframe computer, microcomputer, orother device having a processor and a repository for data or that iscapable of accessing a repository of data. Couplings 111, 112 mayinclude wired, wireless, or fiberoptic links.

The present invention may be implemented using hardware, software or acombination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computersystems or other processing systems. In one variation, the invention isdirected toward one or more computer systems capable of carrying out thefunctionality described herein. An example of such a computer system 200is shown in FIG. 2.

Computer system 200 includes one or more processors, such as processor204. The processor 204 is connected to a communication infrastructure206 (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, or network). Varioussoftware variations are described in terms of this exemplary computersystem. After reading this description, it will become apparent to aperson skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the inventionusing other computer systems and/or architectures.

Computer system 200 can include a display interface 202 that forwardsgraphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure 206(or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on the display unit 230.Computer system 200 also includes a main memory 208, preferably randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 210. Thesecondary memory 210 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 212and/or a removable storage drive 214, representing a floppy disk drive,a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storagedrive 214 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 218 in awell-known manner. Removable storage unit 218, represents a floppy disk,magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which is read by and written toremovable storage drive 214. As will be appreciated, the removablestorage unit 218 includes a computer usable storage medium having storedtherein computer software and/or data.

In alternative aspects, secondary memory 210 may include other similardevices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system 200. Such devices may include, for example,a removable storage unit 222 and an interface 220. Examples of such mayinclude a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that foundin video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory(PROM)) and associated socket, and other removable storage units 222 andinterfaces 220, which allow software and data to be transferred from theremovable storage unit 222 to computer system 200.

Computer system 200 may also include a communications interface 224.Communications interface 224 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 200 and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 224 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc.Software and data transferred via communications interface 224 are inthe form of signals 228, which may be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by communicationsinterface 224. These signals 228 are provided to communicationsinterface 224 via a communications path (e.g., channel) 226. This path226 carries signals 228 and may be implemented using wire or cable,fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF)link and/or other communications channels. In this document, the terms“computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to refergenerally to media such as a removable storage drive 214, a hard diskinstalled in hard disk drive 212, and signals 228. These computerprogram products provide software to the computer system 200. Theinvention is directed to such computer program products.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory 208 and/or secondary memory 210. Computer programsmay also be received via communications interface 224. Such computerprograms, when executed, enable the computer system 200 to perform thefeatures of the present invention, as discussed herein. In particular,the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor 204 toperform the features of the present invention. Accordingly, suchcomputer programs represent controllers of the computer system 200.

In a variation where the invention is implemented using software, thesoftware may be stored in a computer program product and loaded intocomputer system 200 using removable storage drive 214, hard drive 212,or communications interface 224. The control logic (software), whenexecuted by the processor 204, causes the processor 204 to perform thefunctions of the invention as described herein. In another variation,the invention is implemented primarily in hardware using, for example,hardware components, such as application specific integrated circuits(ASICs). Implementation of the hardware state machine so as to performthe functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s).

In yet another variation, the invention is implemented using acombination of both hardware and software.

FIG. 3 illustrates aspects of an exemplary Yahrzeit display format or anillustrative user interface in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention. The Yahrzeit display 300 may include a name 301 of a Yahrzeitentry, a corresponding photograph or other picture 302, a birth date303, and a date of the person's death 304. Dates may be listed in morethan one type of calendar date. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates the dateof the person's death being listed in both the Gregorian calendar dateof Feb. 5, 1997, and the Hebrew calendar date of the 29^(th) of Shevat5757. The death must have taken place after sundown. Otherwise, the dateconversion would be the 28^(th) of Shevat 5757. Thus, the system allowsfor dates to be converted to calendars that begin dates at differenttimes of day. For example, at sunset versus at midnight. The system maytake into account whether an event occurred after sunset by receiving anindication from a user. The display may list a sponsor, relative, and/ornext of kin 305 for the Yahrzeit entry. Although only one sponsor isillustrated, more than one person may be listed. The display may includea biography section 306 with a description of events in the life of theYarhzeit entry.

The display may further include a customized section 307 correspondingto a specific activity or group. The Yahrzeit system and method may becustomized for a specific group, such as a veteran's group. For example,for many veterans, their military service was a pivotal point in theirlives. A customized veteran's Yahrzeit system may recognize veterans fortheir achievements in the context that meant so much to them, byincluding a summary of their military service, for example. For example,FIG. 3 shows that section 307 may include, among others, a headinglisting Military Service, and listing of the branch of military, datesserved in the military, highest military rank obtained, and militaryspecialty for the Yahrzeit entry 301.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates an example for Veterans, the customizedsection may include customized information relating to any group ororganization, such as, among others, memberships in associations,religious groups, educational groups or institutions. For example, ifthe customized section is customized for a membership in an association,the section may include information on which local branch of theassociation the person participated, a timeframe of participation,positions held in the association, etc. The customized section mayinclude more than one type of information. For example, the customizedsection 307 may include the military service information as illustratedin FIG. 3 as well as additional information on participation in aparticular Veteran's association.

A number of features may be provided at a user interface formanipulating the display of Yahrzeit entries. Among others, suchfeatures may include elements for moving to the previous Yahrzeit entry308 or to the next Yahrzeit entry 309, an element 310 for pausing on aparticular Yahrzeit entry or for continuing to scroll through theentries, an element 311 for muting music played along with the displayedentries, an element 312 for selecting a printer friendly view of theYahrzeit entry, and an element 313 for viewing information relevant tomourners. For example, element 313 is illustrated as providing a link tothe Mourner's Kaddish. Among others, element 313 may provide a similarlink to other religious text relevant to mourning, or the celebration oflife and ancestors.

The user interface may include additional features that provide accessto additional information. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates a number ofexemplary buttons or other selection features that may be provided at auser interface. These buttons may include a button 314 for selectinginformation about Yahrzeits. Selecting this feature may direct the userto a display of further information about the history and purpose ofYahrzeits, as well as additional information regarding the particularYahrzeit system that the user is viewing. Another button 315 may allowthe user to view Yahrzeits in the current system. Thus, if a user hasmoved to another section of the Yahrzeit system, button 315 will returnthe user to a display of Yahrzeit entries. Another button 316 may beprovided to allow a user to request entry of a new Yahrzeit. This mayinclude purchasing a Yahrzeit, or making a payment in order to have anew Yahrzeit entry included in the database. For example, a relative maywish to purchase a Yahzeit entry for a deceased person. They can enterinformation to be included in the Yahrzeit entry for the deceased personand provide payment to have the Yahrzeit entry displayed on theanniversary of their death. The system may be configured to display theYahrzeit entry indefinitely or for a predetermined number of years.Although button 316 is illustrated as requesting a payment, the systemmay also allow a user to submit an entry without payment, based on thedesires of the system manager.

The Purchase Yahrzeit button 316 may link to a form that may be printedor filled out electronically and printed. This button may also link to aweb interface that allows the user to electronically transmit theirpurchase of a Yahrzeit entry. The purchase Yahrzeit button may link to aform such as the exemplary form in FIG. 4.

Another button 317 may allow a user to select information about GreatDays in History, for example. This feature may provide furtherinformation regarding important events that occurred on the same date inpast years. This information may change according to the date. Thus, onFebruary 1, the Great Days in History button 317 may provide furtherinformation on other important events occurring in history onFebruary 1. These historical events may be further linked to theprovider of the Yahrzeit system. For example, if the Yahrzeit system isbeing provided by a Veteran's group, the Great Days in History mayinclude important military events.

A list of upcoming historical events may also be provided. A preselectednumber of upcoming great historical events may be listed. For example,the next five events may be displayed. The historical events may beobserved according to any selected calendar. For example, theanniversary dates of the events may be observed by either the Hebrew orGregorian calendar anniversary, or both. Upon selection of this featureby a user, the events may be listed along with such information as ahyperlink to more detailed information, the date (in at least one typeof calendar), a title, a short description, etc.

The Great Days in History button 317 may alternatively include astandard list of important events in history that do not correspond tothe current date.

A link may also be provided for each event that will allow the user toview the Yahrzeit entries corresponding to that day, the date of theevent. The link may also allow the user to view Yahrzeit entries havingsome connection to the event.

Another button 318 may be provided to provide a user with related linksto other electronic information related to the Yahrzeit display. Inaddition, a button 319 may be included that provides a user with anapplication for converting dates between different calendars. FIG. 3illustrates button 319 providing an application to the user to allow aconversion of dates between the Hebrew calendar and the Gregoriancalendar. However, a conversion may be made between any two calendars.This button may display a user interface such as the exemplary userinterface shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 illustrates a first section 501 for the entry of a date in afirst calendar, and a second section 502 for the entry of a date in asecond calendar. A drop down menu 503, 504, for example, or otherselection feature may be provided to prompt the user on the standardinformation for each calendar. A user may then select a conversion toeither the first 505 or the second 506 calendar.

A search feature 320 may also be included that allows a user to searchfor a particular Yahrzeit entry. The search feature may provide asection 320 for a user to input and/or select a search term. Once asearch term is input, a list of entries relevant to the search term aredisplayed. An exemplary display is illustrated in FIG. 6. The entriesare ranked according to relevance to the search term. Dates may beprovided in more than one calendar. Thus, the death date may be listedfor both the Gregorian calendar date of death and the Hebrew calendardate of death. A link is provided to each entry to allow the user toaccess the full Yahrzeit entry.

In addition, a simple search 601 and an advanced search option 602 maybe provided to allow a user to perform a more directed search. Forexample, the simple search option 601 may provide a section for the nameof the deceased to be input, a section for the date of death to beinput, and a section that allows the user to designate a type ofcalendar to be used for the dates. For example, the user may selectbetween the Gregorian and Hebrew calendars for inputting dates.

The advanced search option 602 may allow for the search criteriadescribed for the simple search and additionally provide for searchcriteria based on the birth date of the deceased, the time of day thatthe deceased died, the name of a person related to the deceased, such asa next of kin or sponsor, a search term to be applied in a search of thebiography section of the Yahrzeit, a branch of service, apost/auxiliary/chapter, and honors received. For example, the time ofday section may allow a user to input whether to search both before andafter sunset, before sunset, or after sunset on the dates to be used assearch terms.

The ability to search based on information regarding survivors, next ofkin, and sponsors may be limited to administrators only in order toprotect privacy.

The search feature may also include a button that links to a separatesearch page. The search page may provide the simple search and advancedsearch options as discussed above.

Among other items, the Yahrzeit display may include a time of day andthe physical location corresponding to the time of day, and an option toview a text-only version of a Yahrzeit entry.

FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary information that may be collected as partof a purchase of a Yahrzeit entry. For example, the purchase Yahrzeitbutton 316 in FIG. 3 may link to a form allowing a user to inputinformation for each of the categories illustrated in FIG. 4. Amongothers, there may be sections that allow a user to input the name of theperson to be enrolled, a date of birth, a date of death, whether theevents on those dates occurred before or after sunset, whether aphotograph will be enclosed or attached, information regarding theperson to be enrolled's next of kin, a sponsor name for the person to beenrolled, and biography information. The form may allow a connection toa particular group to be input. FIG. 4 gives an example, for anassociation to the Jewish War Veterans (JWV), where the form allows theuser to input a connection to JWV, Jewish War Veterans Auxiliary (JWVA),National Memorial Inc. (NMI), or the connection of a relative to theseassociations, as well as any positions held in the particular group,such as a highest position held, a chapter/post/or auxiliary of thegroup.

If the Yahrzeit program is being provided by a particular group, theform may further allow the entry of information common to the group. Forexample, if the group is a Veteran's group, the form may allow for theentry of information regarding a branch of service, a theatre ofoperation, service dates, medals and citations, and a corp or specialty.

The Yahrzeit system may include a limited display at a particularlocation, such as a kiosk, an online display, or a combination of both.If the system includes both options, the purchase form may further allowa user to designate whether they approve the entry to be displayed in anonline format.

Another aspect of the present invention includes the electronic displayof a plurality of Yahrzeit entries in a scrolling fashion, wherein eachYahrzeit entry is displayed or otherwise presented in turn for apredetermined period of time. This presentation may include, forexample, displaying a specific group of Yahrzeit during a selected time,wherein the specific entries are selected from a plurality of Yahrzeitentries. This aspect may include displaying a group of Yahrzeit entriesonly on a day corresponding to the anniversary of their death.

Each Yahrzeit entry may include information regarding an individual suchas the individual's birth date, death date, positions held, militarybackground, biographical information, residence information, familyinformation, career information, pictures or other graphics, sponsorinformation, etc.

Another aspect of the present invention includes automatically orotherwise calculating corresponding dates between different calendars sothat an individual Yahrzeit entry with a death date listed using onetype of calendar can be displayed on a corresponding anniversary day ina different calendar. For example, an individual Yahrzeit entry may lista death date based on the Hebrew calendar. In years such as leap yearson the Hebrew calendar, the corresponding anniversary day in anothercalendar, such as the Gregorian calendar may change each year. Inaccordance with this aspect of the present invention, the system mayautomatically or otherwise calculate a corresponding anniversary datefor each Yahrzeit entry's death date for the calendar year in which theentries will be displayed. The calendars involved may include any of theGregorian calendar, the Chinese calendar, the Hindu calendar, the Hebrewcalendar, the Julian calendar, the Muslim calendar, etc.

Each entry may then be displayed on the anniversary according to any ofthe chosen calendars. For example, if the selected calendars are theGregorian and Hebrew calendars, the entry will be displayed on both theGregorian anniversary and the Hebrew calendar date of the anniversary.It is noted that the determination of a Yahrzeit observance is separatefrom the conversion between the Gregorian and Hebrew dates.

The Yahrzeits selected for display each day may be changed at apredetermined time. For example, the scrolling display may change to thenext date each day at sunset. The scrolling display may change to thenext day at a predetermined time. For example, if the system is locatedin Washington, D.C., the anniversary date may be changed at 5:00 PM ESTeach day.

Display Options

In an aspect of the present invention, the Yahrzeit system may beconfigured to display, for example, continuously scrolling Yahrzeitentries on a website, on a predetermined screen at a particularlocation, such as at a kiosk, on both the Internet and at apredetermined location, etc. For example, if the Yahrzeit system isconfigured to simultaneously display Yahrzeit entries for the currentcalendar date both on the Internet and at a stationary display such as akiosk, different levels of interaction may be provided between the twotypes of display. For example, the display via the Internet may allowuser interaction similar to that described above for FIGS. 3-6, whereasthe stationary display may provide limited capabilities to a user.

The collection of Yahrzeit entries may be stored in a central databasethat is accessed by two separate applications, one for an Internetversion of the display and one for a stationary display. Alternatively,for example, two separate databases may be created so that eachapplication accesses a separate, but similar collection of Yahrzeitentries.

The scrolling display may be implemented by providing a continuousrotation of Yahrzeit entries. The scrolling may occur through a requeryto a web server for a new Yahrzeit after a predetermined amount of time.For example, a requery may be made to a server every 15 seconds. Inorder to reduce the amount of wait time experienced by a user, thescrolling or rotating display may include feeding or preloading newYahrzeit entries to a user's display in a hidden frame on a browser.Thus, the Yahrzeits are displayed as they arrive on the page, but thequeries for remaining Yahrzeits are not displayed to the user.

In order to display the plurality of Yahrzeit entries on theiranniversary date, first, a current date may be determined. Then, a dateconversion may be performed in order to convert the date to acorresponding date in a different calendar. Then, for example, a firstsearch may be performed in a database to search for Yahrzeit entrieshaving anniversary dates corresponding to either the current date or theconverted date. An identifier for each Yarhzeit entry identified in thesearch is returned in a first result. A query may be performed for apredetermined number of the Yahrzeit entries identified in the firstresult. For example, the predetermined number may be 10, and a query maybe made for the full Yahrzeit entries corresponding to the first 10Yahrzeit identifiers in the first result.

This information may be loaded up into arrays such as javascript arraysand sent to a display. The first Yahrzeit entry is displayed for ascrolling period. The scrolling period may be a predetermined number ofseconds, such as five seconds. A timer calculates the scrolling period.Once the first Yahrzeit entry has been displayed for the scrollingperiod, a rotation function deletes the first element in the array andredisplays the next Yahrzeit entry, the new first element in the array.

A hidden frame may be used to call a page on the web server and torequest a new set of Yahrzeit entries, i.e. the next 10 entries on thelist of identified Yahrzeit entries for the day. A server may return thenext batch of Yahrzeit entries loaded into an array to the hidden framea page.

Upon loading, the hidden frame will update the arrays on the main pagewith the new Yahrzeit entry information. A timer may be used toperiodically check the length of the Yahrzeit arrays on a parent frame.When the number of Yahrzeit entries stored drops below a predeterminednumber, a query will once again be sent to the server for the next batchof Yahrzeit entries.

Entry of Information

Yahrzeit entries may be entered directly by a system manager, forexample. Information for Yahrzeit entries may also be entered remotelyvia the Internet.

In an aspect, a donor or sponsor may request entry and/or purchaseYahrzeit entry information via a website. The website may be accessedvia a link that may be included on a plurality of websites. This link,may be depicted, for example as a button labeled “Purchase Yahrzeit.” Aspart of this aspect, all Yahrzeit entries may be sent to a systemmanager for review and approval before the entry is included in theYahrzeit display.

One aspect of the system allows for the pre-registration of entries by asponsor. These entries are entered into the system without a death date.Without a death date, the entry may not be included in the Yahrzeitdisplay. In order to activate the entry, a death date may be enteredeither by the sponsor or by a system manager. At this point, the entrywill be displayed as a standard entry.

Automatic Deduplication

Another aspect of the present invention includes an automatic orotherwise enableable deduplication feature, wherein an automatic promptis provided to a system manager when two records are found in theplurality of Yahrzeit entries with specified amount of matchingcriteria. The criteria may include, for example, a Yahrzeit individual'sname, birth date, and death date. Other criteria may also include anaddress, city and state of residence, a telephone number, a sponsorname, etc. In one aspect, an automatic prompt is provided to a systemmanager if two Yahrzeit entries are found to have identical criteria,including at least a Yahrzeit individual's name, wherein the nameincludes a matching middle name or middle initial, a birth date, and adeath date.

The automatic prompt may be provided, for example, to the system managerat the time that the duplicative entry is first entered into the system.However, the automatic prompt may also be provided after a review ofentries previously entered into the system.

The automatic prompt, for example, allows the system manager todetermine whether to keep both entries with matching criteria. Theprompt displays the duplicative criteria and provides links toadditional information regarding each entry identified as beingduplicative. Therefore, the system manager can investigate anyduplicative entry directly from the automatic prompt.

Manage Persons

Another aspect of the present invention may include a feature to managepersons related to individual Yahrzeit entries. Related persons mayinclude sponsors, donors, relatives, next of kin, etc. This featureincludes the capability to identify related persons as being active,inactive, deceased, including a special status, etc. A special statusmay include a request to receive only a particular type of notificationregarding the Yahrzeit entries or for only particular Yahrzeit entrieswith which they are connected.

Another aspect of the present invention allows information regarding therelated persons to be updated, such as a change of address, etc. Aperson may be related as a sponsor, donor, or next of kin, for example,to a plurality of Yahrzeit entries. If the address, status (deceased),or other information, regarding the related person is altered inconnection with one of these Yahrzeit entries, the information for thatrelated person may be globally updated for on all of the Yahrzeitentries with which they are listed, connected, etc.

Another aspect of the present invention allows a system manager toaccess a page that lists some or all information regarding a sponsor, adonor, or a next of kin individual. This page may include informationfor all Yahrzeits for which the individual is either a sponsor, a donor,or a next of kin. This page may also include the capability to updatestatus information for the individual as it relates to each Yahrzeit towhich the individual is connected. For example, the page may include thecapability to change the active/inactive status, notification status,deceased status, etc., for a plurality of individual Yahrzeit entries.

This aspect of the present invention may include retaining informationon deceased sponsors and next of kin, and identifying these individualsas deceased and “not notify” for notifications. This aspect includesretaining the related person as sponsors and/or next of kin listed on adisplayed Yahrzeit entry, without requiring that further notificationsbe sent to the related person.

This aspect may further include a link to each of the Yahrzeit entriesto which the person is related, such that a system manager or other usercan access the individual Yahrzeit entries by, for example, clicking ona link on the sponsor, next of kin, or donor page.

Another aspect of the present invention includes an automatic orotherwise enableable deduplication of records for persons related toYahrzeit entries. Similar to the description above for the deduplicationof Yahrzeit entries, this aspect includes determining whether there is apredetermined criteria match for at least two records of relatedpersons. These criteria may include at least first and last name,address, residence city, phone number, etc.

The system may further includes an administrative section that allows asystem manager or other user to take and include notes regarding aYahrzeit entry or a related person. Notes may include information on thetiming and/or reason for changes to an entry, biographical information,pictures and/or graphic information, etc., for a Yahrzeit entry or arelated person entry.

Yahrzeit Notices

Another aspect of the present invention includes the automatic orotherwise generation of notices. A notice may include an e-mail, letter,other correspondence, etc., generated to a person related to a Yahrzeitentry. For example, an anniversary notice may be sent to all donors,sponsors, and next of kin associated with each Yahrzeit entry inconnection with the anniversary of the death date of the Yahrzeit entry.Other notices may include requests for donations, notification ofevents, etc.

An aspect of the system automatically or otherwise determines whethermultiple notices will be sent to the same recipient, and combines theinformation from the multiple notices into one notice to be sent to therecipient. For example, a recipient may be a sponsor or next of kin fora plurality of Yahrzeit entries. Another aspect may include storinginformation regarding whether a notice has been previously generated fora Sponsor or Survivor in a predetermined amount of time. For example,the system may notify an administrator that a Sponsor has alreadyreceived a notice within the past year by displaying that information. Arecord may be kept in a database or other data repository of allreminders and notices that have been previously generated in order toprevent administrators from sending duplicate reminders.

A further aspect of the Yahrzeit system may include automatically orotherwise creating mailing lists from sponsor, donor, next of kin, etc.,information. This aspect may include exporting information for at leasta selected group of individuals to automatically generate letters orcorrespondence regarding fundraising, requests for memorabilia, etc.

Other aspects of the present invention may include features that allowsending automatic notices, collecting payment informationelectronically, such as online, creating relationships between variousfields such as between the relationship, fee, and notify fields, andproviding queries to search and remove duplicate entries.

The Yahrzeit system may prepare automatic or otherwise generatedreports. For example, an automatic report may be generated at specifiedintervals regarding Yahrzeit entries received but awaiting receipt orconfirmation or payment, and pre-enrolled Yahrzeit entries awaitingactivation.

Example variations of the present invention have now been described inaccordance with the above advantages. It will be appreciated that theseexamples are merely illustrative of aspects of the invention. Manyvariations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in theart.

1. A method of providing an electronic Yahrzeit display corresponding tothe current date, the method comprising: determining a current date;performing a search in a database storing a plurality of Yahrzeitentries to identify the Yahrzeit entries having an anniversary of thedeath date corresponding to the current date; and presenting theidentified Yahrzeit entries in a rotating manner, wherein each of theidentified Yahrzeit entries are displayed for a predetermined amount oftime.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the current date is determinedin a first calendar further comprising: calculating a conversion datefor the current date in a second calendar; and wherein performing thesearch includes identifying the Yahrzeit entries having an anniversaryof the death date corresponding to the current date in the firstcalendar and the conversion date in the second calendar.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the first and second calendars are selected from agroup consisting of the Gregorian calendar, the Hebrew calendar, theChinese calendar, the Hindu calendar, the Julian calendar, and theMuslim calendar.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first and secondcalendars are selected from a group consisting of the Gregorian calendarand the Hebrew calendar.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying aYahrzeit entry includes displaying information selected from a groupconsisting of a birth date, a death date, a next of kin, a survivingrelative, a sponsor, information on military service, information onmembership in a group, a photograph, and biography information.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein one of the birth date and death date aredisplayed and at least one of the dates is shown for both a firstcalendar and a second calendar.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: providing a link at a user interface with furtherinformation for at least one selected from a group consisting of generalYahrzeit information, great days in history, related links, andinformation related to mourning.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein alink is provided to information regarding great days in history, furthercomprising: listing a historical event corresponding to the currentdate; and updating the historical event to be listed based on thecurrent date.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: providing alink to a Yahrzeit entry having a connection to the historical event.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one step selectedfrom a group consisting of: providing an application for convertingdates from a first calendar to a second calendar; providing a printerfriendly display of the Yahrzeit entry; providing an option to searchthe Yahrzeit entry database; and transmitting a form for the purchase ofa Yahrzeit entry.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:managing the plurality of Yahrzeit entries stored in the database,including: entering a new Yahrzeit entry; and deduplicating theplurality of Yahrzeit entries.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereindeduplicating the plurality of Yahrzeit entries includes: establishing apredetermined amount of identical information to trigger adeduplication.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein deduplication occursautomatically upon the entry of a duplicative Yahrzeit entry.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, wherein a prompt is made to a user when a Yahrzeitentry is entered having a predetermined amount of identical informationto an existing Yahrzeit entry.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising: displaying information for the existing entry and theduplicative entry; and providing a link to further information for bothentries.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising: storing asponsor record for a sponsor of the Yahrzeit entry.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising: linking the sponsor record to a pluralityof Yahrzeit entries.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:globally updating information in the sponsor record such that thesponsor record information is corrected in each of the plurality ofYahrzeit entries to which it is linked.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein the sponsor record includes a status indicator, and wherein thestatus indicator includes at least one selected from a group consistingof active, inactive, deceased, and a special status.
 20. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising: generating a notice for a sponsorregarding a Yahrzeit entry.
 21. The method of claim 20, furthercomprising: indicating whether a notice has been previously generatedfor the sponsor.
 22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:electronically displaying the identified Yahrzeit entries in a rotatingmanner both at a stationary display and via an Internet page.
 23. Themethod of claim 1, wherein displaying the Yahrzeit entries in a rotatingmanner includes: electronically presenting the identified Yahrzeitentries via at least one of a visual display and an audio communication.24. The method of claim 23, wherein the Yahrzeit entries areelectronically displayed at a user terminal, further comprising: feedinga Yahrzeit entry to a user's terminal in a hidden frame on a browser atthe user's terminal.
 25. A system for providing a rotating display of aplurality of Yahrzeits corresponding to an anniversary date, the systemcomprising: means for determining a current date; means for performing asearch in a database storing a plurality of Yahrzeit entries to identifythe Yahrzeit entries having an anniversary of the death datecorresponding to the current date; and means for presenting theidentified Yahrzeit entries in a rotating manner, wherein each of theidentified Yahrzeit entries are presented for a predetermined amount oftime.
 26. A system for providing a rotating display of a plurality ofYahrzeits corresponding to an anniversary date, the system comprising: aprocessor for determining a current date; a repository accessible by theprocessor for storing a plurality of Yahrzeit entries; wherein theprocessor performs a search in the repository to identify the Yahrzeitentries having an anniversary of the death date corresponding to thecurrent date; and a user interface functioning via the processor forpresenting the identified Yahrzeit entries in a rotating manner, whereineach of the identified Yahrzeit entries are presented for apredetermined amount of time.
 27. The system of claim 26, wherein theprocessor is housed on a terminal.
 28. The system of claim 27, whereinthe terminal is selected from a group consisting of a personal computer,a minicomputer, a main frame computer, a microcomputer, a hand helddevice, and a telephonic device.
 29. The system of claim 26, wherein theprocessor is housed on a server.
 30. The system of claim 29, wherein theserver is selected from a group consisting of a personal computer, aminicomputer, a microcomputer, and a main frame computer.
 31. The systemof claim 29, wherein the server is coupled to a network.
 32. The systemof claim 31, wherein the network is the Internet.
 33. The system ofclaim 31, wherein the server is coupled to the network via a coupling.34. The system of claim 32, wherein the coupling is selected from agroup consisting of a wired connection, a wireless connection, and afiberoptic connection.
 35. The system of claim 26, wherein therepository is housed on a server.
 36. The system of claim 35, whereinthe server is coupled to a network.
 37. A computer program productcomprising a computer usable medium having control logic stored thereinfor causing a computer to provide a rotating display of a plurality ofYahrzeits corresponding to an anniversary date, the control logiccomprising: first computer readable program code means for determining acurrent date; second computer readable program code means for performinga search in a database storing a plurality of Yahrzeit entries toidentify the Yahrzeit entries having an anniversary of the death datecorresponding to the current date; and third computer readable programcode means for presenting the identified Yahrzeit entries in a rotatingmanner, wherein each of the identified Yahrzeit entries are presentedfor a predetermined amount of time.
 38. At least one processorconfigured to provide a rotating display of a plurality of Yahrzeitscorresponding to an anniversary date, comprising: a first module fordetermining a current date; and a second module for performing a searchin a database storing a plurality of Yahrzeit entries to identify theYahrzeit entries having an anniversary of the death date correspondingto the current date; and a third module for presenting the identifiedYahrzeit entries in a rotating manner, wherein each of the identifiedYahrzeit entries are presented for a predetermined amount of time.